With a piercing wail of awful agony, he If you are a bit fuzzy about

I
t was a gorgeous, sunny day at the
Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona. A crowd of happy sightseers had
gathered near the edge of a mile-high cliff
to absorb the pristine, rugged scenery.
There was nothing to fear, for everyone
stood behind a guardrail built to protect
visitors.
As the sight-seers eyed the beautiful
view, a young couple who were engaged
to be married in three short weeks joined
them. Suddenly, to everyone’s shock,
the young man, whose name was Jim,
hopped over the guardrail near the edge
of the cliff.
“Say, young fellow,” a nearby tourist
said in alarm, “Don’t you know what
guardrails are for?” “Yes sir,” Jim replied
with a hearty chuckle, “I helped build
these rails. I work here. I know this canyon quite well.” Calmly taking hold of
his sweetheart’s hand, he helped her over
too.
Just beyond the rail was an outcropping of rock that precariously jutted out
beyond the edge of the cliff. Carefully
climbing onto the outcrop, the couple
then sat down to enjoy an incredible view
of the canyon. That’s dangerous, thought
watching tourists.
An eye-witness reported: “Presently
Jim stood up and gave his hand to the
girl. For better balance in helping to raise
her weight, he naturally took a short step
backward—just over the edge!” His girlfriend then beheld a look of sheer terror
on her lover’s face as he suddenly realized
what he had just done, and that he was
now hopelessly doomed.
With a piercing wail of awful agony, he
plunged to his death far below. The girl
was so hysterical, she nearly jumped off
too. She was finally pulled to safety, but
had to be sedated.
The obvious lesson of this tragic, true
story is that everyone—including you,
me, families, societies, and nations—need
boundary lines to protect us from ruin.
That rail is not for me, Jim confidently
concluded as he hopped over the guardrail. But he was wrong. Dead wrong. He
perished because of his vain self-confidence.
The Holy Bible informs us that our
loving Creator who formed us “in His
own image” (Genesis 1:27), is deeply concerned about our safety, too. To protect us
from the fatal consequences of bad choices, He has mercifully given us a “guard
rail” for our protection. That guard rail is
the Ten Commandments. To ancient Israelites gathered at the foot of Mount Sinai
to receive this law, Moses wrote:
You came near and stood at the foot
of the mountain, and the mountain burned with fire to the midst
of heaven, with darkness, cloud,
and thick darkness. And the Lord
spoke to you out of the midst of the
fire. You heard the sound of words,
but saw no form; you only heard a
voice. So He [God] declared to you
His covenant which He commanded
you to perform, the Ten Commandments; and He wrote them on two
tablets of stone.
—Deuteronomy 4:11-13
(NKJV*)
To illustrate how the Ten Commandments are designed to protect us from
harm, consider human laws. Are they not
written for our protection too? Traffic
laws, child pornography laws, laws
against stealing, or murder, are all meant
to protect life and property.
It’s the same with the Ten Commandments. God Almighty proclaimed them
amidst thunder, earthquake, and fiery
flame from the summit of Mount Sinai,
not only to impress us with their holy sacredness, but to prevent us from destroying ourselves by breaking them. “That it
may go well with you and your children”
(Deuteronomy 12:28)—this is the reason
He gave us His law. Our Creator loves us,
and wants what’s best for us.
If you are a bit fuzzy about what the
Ten Commandments teach, here they
are as recorded in God’s Book. Read each
commandment carefully.
And God spoke all
these words, saying...
I.
You shall have no other gods
before Me.
II. You shall not make for yourself a
carved image.
III. You shall not take the name of the
Lord your God in vain.
*All scripture, unless otherwise noted, taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982
by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
IV. Remember the Sabbath day, to
keep it holy. Six days you shall
labor and do all your work, but
the seventh day [Saturday] is the
Sabbath of the Lord your God...
For in six days the Lord made the
heavens and the earth...Therefore
the Lord blessed the Sabbath day
and hallowed it.
V.
Honor your father and your
mother.
VI. You shall not kill.
VII. You shall not commit adultery.
VIII. You shall not steal.
IX. You shall not bear false witness
against your neighbor.
You shall not covet.
—Exodus 20:1-17.
This “law is truth” (Psalm 119:142),
because its eternal Author is “the God of
truth” (Isaiah 65:16). “The commandment is holy and just and good” (Romans 7:12) because God is holy, just
and good. Because “God is love” (1 John
4:8), His law is a transcript of His character of love. This being so, to willingly
violate the supreme law of our Creator is
to purposefully oppose God Himself. In
a nutshell, it means revolt and rebellion
against the government of the Supreme
Ruler of the Universe. The Bible calls
such wicked opposition “sin.” “Sin is the
transgression [violation] of the law” (1
John 3:4, KJV, emphasis added). “By the
law is knowledge of sin” (Romans 3:20),
wrote Paul. Because “all have sinned”
(Romans 3:23), this makes us all sinners,
subject to divine judgment.
X.
“The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in
mercy” (Psalm 103:8). Aren’t you glad?
If He wasn’t, we’d all be dead. But here’s
the catch. Mercy isn’t the only attribute
of God’s character. He is also “a God of
justice” (Isaiah 30:18) who “executes
justice” (Psalm 146:7) when the time is
right.
Bible history contains numerous instances when, after countless offers of
mercy were stubbornly rejected by reckless, wayward sinners, that divine justice
finally struck with holy vengeance. In the
days of Noah, “the Lord saw that the
wickedness of man was great in the
earth…” (Genesis 6:5). Because human
sin had become so horrific, God finally
declared, “I will destroy man whom I
have created from the face of the earth”
(verse 7).
under them, and the earth opened its
mouth and swallowed them up…”
(Numbers 16:31,32). God also uses tornados and hurricane-like forces to punish
sin, as it is written: “The Lord has His
way in the whirlwind and storm…” (NaYet true to merciful nature, God first hum 1:3).
told Noah to build a massive boat to become a refuge in the coming storm. For
120 years Noah preached and urged sinners to repent. When that 120-year period finally closed, only eight people responded to God’s gracious offer of mercy
by entering the boat. Then torrents of
rain fell, and a mighty flood destroyed
the world. “And all flesh died that moved
Yes, God oversees the mighty forces
upon the earth…
of nature, including floods, fires, earthOnly Noah and those who were with
quakes, storms and hail. As difficult as
him in the ark remained alive.
this may sound, in the midst of every
—Genesis 7:21,23
deadly natural disaster, God’s pleading
In a sense, this judgment was a bit like voice may yet be heard warning sinners
what happened to Jim on that Grand to turn from sin. Be assured of this: huCanyon cliff. In Noah’s day, the entire man wickeness won’t continue forever.
world stubbornly rejected God’s guard- An apocalyptic line will soon be crossed.
rail. As a result, everyone drowned. In “I will punish the world for its evil” (Isafact, the Grand Canyon itself was formed iah 13:11), reports God Almighty. Again,
by the swirling action of water from No- yes, He is exceedingly merciful; but He
ah’s flood. Biblical geologists recognize is also righteous and just, and holy. His
this clearly.
plan is to utterly eradicate all sin, rebelNotice also that in Noah’s day, God lion, and wickedness from His universe.
didn’t destroy a wicked world with His The living God declares,
I will utterly consume everything
own hand directly. Instead, He used
from the face of the land, says the
mighty agencies of nature—rain and
Lord. I will consume man and beast;
flooding—to implement His just wrath.
I will consume the birds of the
Something similar happened to the anheavens,
the fish of the sea, and the
cient city of Sodom. “But the men of
stumbling blocks along with the
Sodom were exceedingly wicked and sinwicked. I will cut off man from the
ful against the Lord” (Genesis 13:13). So
face of the land, says the Lord.
wicked in fact, that divine justice finally
—Zephaniah 1:3
struck there too. But this time, instead of
rain, burning fire descended in “the punIn a parallel prophecy, the last book of
ishment of the city” (Genesis 19:15). “The the Bible predicts:
Lord rained brimstone and fire on Sodom
Then the sky receded as a scroll when
and Gomorrah, from the Lord out of the
it is rolled up, and every mountain
heavens. So He overthrew those cities, all
and island was moved out of its
the plain, all the inhabitants of the citplace. And the kings of the earth,
ies, and what grew on the ground” (verses
the great men, the rich men, the
24,25). Archeologists have uncovered the
commanders,
the mighty men, every
ruins of those cities—covered with layers
slave
and
every
free man, hid themof ash—just south of the Dead Sea.
selves in the caves and in the rocks
In still another instance, God used an
of the mountains, and said to the
earthquake to punish Korah, Dathan and
mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and
Abiram for persistently revolting against
hide us from the face of Him who sits
His just authority manifested through
on the throne and from the wrath of
the leadership of Moses.
the Lamb! For the great day of His
wrath has come, and who is able
After a period of mercy extended to
to stand?.”—Revelation 6:14-17
these rebels, “…the ground split apart
As we approach this cataclysmic “day
of the Lord” that “shall come as destruction from the Almighty” (Joel 1:15), all
deadly natural disasters are actually merciful wake-up calls to wandering humans
to return to their Maker—before it’s forever too late.
Some scientists now consider “climate
change” and “global warming” to be the
cause of increasing calamities. Others
dismiss such so-called “science” as politically motivated. Regardless, devastating
convulsions of nature are occurring on all
sides with terrifying frequency and loss of
life. Simply scan today’s headlines. Check
the Internet. Watch CNN or Fox News.
Now don’t miss this point. The Bible reveals that the real reason the awful tornados, flooding, fires, and storms is that
God is sending judgments upon human
rebellion against His Law. Notice carefully the Lord’s words to ancient Israel:
Hear, O earth! Behold, I will
certainly bring calamity on this
people—the fruit of their thoughts,
because they have not heeded My
words, nor My law, but rejected it.
—Jeremiah 6:19
Thus “calamity” follows the rejection
of God’s law. The prophet Hosea also
listed specific violations of the Ten Commandments as the underlying reason for
divine judgments:
…the Lord brings a charge against
the inhabitants of the land: “There
is no truth or mercy or knowledge of
God in the land. By swearing
(breaking the 3rd commandment)
and lying (the 9th commandment),
killing (the 6th) and stealing (the
8th) and committing adultery (the
7th), they break all restraint, with
bloodshed upon bloodshed.”
—Hosea 4:1,2
Can’t you see this happening today?
Swearing, lying, killing, stealing, and sexual immorality are as common as houseflies. God’s prophet then describes the
terrible consequences of reckless commandment-breaking:
Therefore the land will mourn; and
everyone who dwells there will waste
away, with the beasts of the field,
and the birds of the air; even the
fish of the sea will be taken away…
My people are destroyed for lack of
knowledge…
Because you have forgotten the law
of your God… So I will punish
them for their ways, and reward
them for their deeds.
—Hosea 4: 3,6,9
It is “for lack of knowledge” that humanity suffers today. “Because you have
forgotten the law of your God”—here
is the root issue. God warns, “So I will
punish them for their ways.” Just like in
the days of Noah and Sodom, even so is
God punishing human wickedness today
through the agency of rain, fire, earthquakes, and storms. Unfortunately, it is
part of the terrible consequences of sin
that innocent souls often suffer with the
guilty.
Now mark these words: much larger
judgments are pending, far beyond what
we can possibly imagine. Los Angeles,
San Francisco, New York, Paris (France),
Rome (Italy), Moscow (Russia), London (England), Mexico City (Mexico)
and countless other sprawling cities will
soon reap terrible devastation for their
great wickedness—just like in Bible days.
God still keeps accurate records of every
violation of His law. “Every transgression,” wrote Paul, will “receive a just reward” (Hebrews 2:2). You are now being
warned of pending judgments.
Thus says the Lord of hosts:
“Behold, disaster shall go forth from
nation to nation. And a great
whirlwind shall be raised up from
the farthest parts of the earth. And
at that day the slain of the Lord shall
be from one end of the earth even to
the other end of the earth.”
—Jeremiah 25:32,33
If we take these words at face value,
Planet Earth is slated for total depopulation (at least for a time). But it’s not all
bad news. Not at all! Yes, God will eliminate all rebellion and evil, but He has a
loving and eternal purpose in mind. He’s
going to start all over again and He wants
His universe free from sin. All who surrender their hearts to Him can enjoy eternal bliss. Take a look:
But the day of the Lord will come
as a thief in the night, in which the
heavens will pass away with a great
noise, and the elements will melt
with fervent heat; both the earth and
the works that are in it will be burned
up…Nevertheless we, according to
His promise, look for new heavens
and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.—2 Peter 3:10,13
The biggest question is: how can we
sinners who have violated the Ten Commandments be forgiven and find a place
in God’s “new earth”? There’s only one
answer. Through a merciful Savior, who
took our punishment on the cross. To illustrate, read this touching story:
Years ago a little one-room schoolhouse in the mountains of Virginia
Is global destruction possible? Yes, for housed a group of boys so rough that no
Jesus Christ Himself plainly predicted:
teacher could handle them. A new teacher applied for the job, willing to take the
And as it was in the days of Noah,
risk. On the first day of school, the new
so it will be also in the days of the
teacher appeared for duty. One big felSon of Man: They ate, they drank,
low named Tom whispered smugly to a
they married wives, they were given
friend: “I won’t need any help with this
in marriage, until the day that Noah
one. I can lick him myself.”
entered the ark, and the flood came
and destroyed them all. Likewise as
“Good morning, boys,” the teacher beit was also in the days of Lot: They
gan. The boys shouted back, making fun
ate, they drank, they bought, they
of the wimpy-looking teacher. “Now, I
sold, they planted, they built; but on
want a good school, but I need your help.
the day that Lot went out of Sodom
Let’s start with a few rules. You tell me
it rained fire and brimstone from
what they should be, and I’ll write them
heaven and destroyed them all. Even
on the blackboard.” “No stealing!” one
so will it be in the day when the Son
student yelled. “Be on time!” shouted anof Man is revealed.—Luke 17:26-30
other.
Finally, ten rules appeared on the
blackboard.
“Now,” said the teacher, “all laws are
worthless without a penalty. What shall
we do to someone who breaks the rules?”
“Beat him across the back ten times without his coat on!” was the class response.
“That’s pretty severe, boys. Are you sure
you’re ready to stand by that?” “I second
the motion,” one kid screamed out. “All
right,” said the teacher, “So be it. Class,
come to order!”
A few days later, ‘Big Tom’ discovered
that his lunch had been stolen. In time,
the thief was located—a hungry little boy
about ten years old. “Ok. We caught the
thief,” said the teacher. “He must be punished according to your rule—ten stripes
across the back. Jim, come up here!” The
little fellow, trembling, walked up slowly
with a big coat fastened up to his neck.
“Teacher,” he pleaded, “you can lick me
as hard as you like, but please, don’t make
me take my coat off!”
“You must take it off,” the teacher replied. “That’s the rule!” So, he did. To everyone’s amazement, the little boy had no
shirt underneath.
mother is washing it today. I wore my
brother’s big coat to stay warm.” The
teacher, rod in hand, hesitated. Oh, what
should I do? he thought. Just then Big Tom
leaped to his feet and and said, “Teacher,
if you don’t object, I’ll take Jim’s licking
for him.”
Thinking a moment, the teacher replied. “Very well. None of our rules say
that one person can’t be punished for another’s crime. Are you all agreed?” “Yes!”
shouted the class. So off came Tom’s
coat. After five lashes the rod broke! The
teacher bowed his head in his hands and
thought, How can I finish this awful task?
Then he heard some students sobbing.
What did he see? Little Jim had reached
up and grabbed Tom with both arms
around his neck. “Tom, I’m sorry I stole
your lunch, but I was so hungry. Tom,
you’ll be my friend until I die for taking
my licking for me!”
Dear reader, this story parallels what
our Best Friend, Jesus Christ, did for each
of us. Indeed, God does say in His Word,
“I will punish the world for its evil.” But
oh, what love! To save our souls, Jesus
Himself came to earth and took upon
Himself the exact punishment we deserve
for breaking the Ten Commandments.
Just a little, bony, crippled body. How
can I whip this kid? the teacher thought.
In an ancient prophecy, the Bible preBut I must maintain respect at this school.
The classroom was as silent as a cemetery. dicted:
He was pierced because of our
“How come you aren’t wearing a shirt,
rebellions
and crushed because
Jim?” the teacher inquired. “My father
of
our
crimes.
He bore the
died and my mother is poor,” the boy repunishment
that
made
us whole;
plied. “I only own one shirt, and my
by his wounds we are healed.
—Isaiah 53:5, C.E.V.
Just like Big Tom took skinny Jim’s
beating, Jesus “bore” our “punishment”
when He died upon the cross. Now we
have a chance to repent (turn from our
sins), be forgiven, and in His strength,
step on the safe side of God’s guardrail
as we await His soon return.
“Here is the patience of the saints; here
are they that keep the commandments
of God and the faith of Jesus” (Revelation 14:12) is Heaven’s description of
God’s loyal people who cheerfully obey
the Ten Commandments during earth’s
last days because they love their Savior,
who died for them.
Which group will you be in, that of
commandment-keepers, or commandment-breakers? Will you join self-confident sinners destined for eternal death
for rejecting God’s law—just like that
foolish man who perished in Arizona?
Or will you be among the faithful who
are prepared for Jesus Christ’s soon return (read Revelation 14:12-14)? That
choice—with its eternal consequences—is up to you. Remember, only eight
people boarded Noah’s ark.
Choose Jesus Christ today!
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